Odisha farmers block roads to protest against centralised paddy procurement system

Farmers, under the banner of the Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanway Samiti (POKSSS), blocked roads to protest against centralised paddy procurement system and demanded the procurement of paddy from across the region on the basis of the harvest report submitted by the agriculture department of the districts concerned.

Sambalpur (Odisha):Hundreds of farmers stacked their paddy produce on major roads in various parts of Western Odisha on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of the centralised token system for procurement of the crop in the state-run market yards.

Farmers, under the banner of the Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanway Samiti (POKSSS), demanded the procurement of paddy from across the region on the basis of the harvest report submitted by the agriculture department of the districts concerned.

POKSSS convenor Lingaraj said the paddy procurement system should be decentralised.

The government has decided to procure 19 quintals of paddy per acre of irrigated land and 13 quintals of rain-fed fields. But the decision has been taken in Bhubaneswar.

Farmers stacked paddy produce on major roads in various parts of district

"This should be taken at the district level. In a decentralised procurement system, the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies (PACS) play a pivotal role and generate tokens for selling the crop in the market yard. But the tokens are being generated from Bhubaneswar," he alleged.

In Sambalpur, the farmers parked their paddy-laden vehicles at Sindurpankh on NH-53, protesting against the 'faulty' procurement system and refused to discuss with the district officials.

However, police detained at least 15 farmers there to clear the road in the evening. Farmers in Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur and Balangir districts also took out rallies and held sit-ins to protest against the centralised procurement system.

(With inputs from PTI)